2009 Volkswagen Passat: won't start

Filed Apr 3, 2025 · Engine · SC

The check engine light and oil pressure light appeared on my dash screen as I was driving home from work. I pulled over to the nearest repair shop to have the vehicle diagnosed. Upon arriving, the mechanic noticed my oil was low and filled the car with oil. Once that was completed, the car would not start. I noticed it made unusual noises after several more failed attempts. I had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealership to further troubleshoot and they were able to confirm that the engine jumped time due to a failed timing chain tensioner, which requires a new engine since mine is an interference engine. Due to the timing chain tensioner failing, there was catastrophic damage done to the engine leaving the vehicle inoperable.

Filed Jul 11, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 80,000 miles · MD

My vw passat 2009 sustained engine failure due to failure timing chain/timing chain tensioner and now needs very expensive engine repair or replacement of engine. Car drove okay for 15 minutes in the morning then it was then parked for about 2 hours. When trying to re-start the car, the car would not start. Mechanic noted absent compression in 2 cylinders and diagnosed it to be due to timing chain slipping. This happened at 80,000miles and less than 10 years (9 years 9 months) of purchase of the vehicle. Vw's extended warranty covers repair/replacement of timing chain but does not cover repair of engine damage resulted due to timing chain failure. The car was serviced at vw dealer regularly and there was no warning or indication of impending failure of the timing chain. Other owners of vw vehicles have also complained of having identical problems on online community with some people complaining of engine stalling while driving. This appears to be a defective design rather than wear and tear due ageing and I feel that vw should recall the affected vehicles to repair the problems.

Filed Aug 17, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 105,000 miles · MD

3 different occasions my car would loose power and shut down on the highway. I had it towed and all three times they stated it was different things and that they had to take steps in replacing good parts to find the bad ones. Just to find out that it was the fuel pump control module that they thought it was the whole time. Now there is a recall on it. Which I have summitted the paper work and they conveniently cannot find. This past weekend my car wouldn't turn over at all when I tried to start it in a parking lot so I had it towed for the 4th time in 2.5years. They are claiming that the engine motor is bad and it would cost $7500.00 to replace. The technician cannot find any oil leaks nd claim there was only about a half of court of oil in the motor. I had the oil changed less than 2 months prior and both volkswagen and my mechanic said that there is no way it could of run for that long on half a court of oil and should hold 5.6 quarts. Which leads to the motor eating so to speak the oil. ( a bad engine) although I spent over $20'000.00 on this vehicle and have had all these issues volkswagen is telling me that they will not help at all with repairing the engine. That I will have to eat the $9000.00 still owed on the vehicle. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am with the customer service by volkswagen.

Filed Jun 13, 2018 · Fuel system · 63,136 miles · LA

The company issued a recall for this issue with no remedy. My vehicle experienced this issue prior to the recall and we paid out of pocket for the repair that they recommend however, they will not reimburse us because they have not specified a "repair" on the recall although they do provide a remedy. This is a technicality on their (vw) end to not reimburse customers for repairs that they already know are needed. Prior to the repair we experienced symptoms below. Loss of power while driving and no start. We had no option but to pay for repairs out of pocket. Recall described as: fuel pump control module vw action code 20ae the federal safety agency recall number 17v509 start date 08-16-2017 description on certain vehicles, there could be an interruption in electrical power from the fuel pump control module. This could result in the fuel pump running continuously, resulting in a drained battery and/or a no start condition, or cause a loss of motive power while the vehicle is in motion, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Remedy replace the fuel pump control module and relocate it within the vehicle.

Filed Apr 23, 2018 · IL

Steering column defective message periodically comes on after trying to start the vehicle. When this happens, the car wont start and I have to push the key in several times until it finally does start.

Filed Oct 20, 2017 · FM

Takata recall the federal safety agency recall number 17v509 summary on certain vehicles, there could be an interruption in electrical power to the fuel pump control module. This could result in the fuel pump running continuously, resulting in a drained battery and/or a no start condition, or cause a loss of motive power while the vehicle is in motion, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Recall status recall incomplete. Remedy not yet available remedy replace the fuel pump control module and relocate it within the vehicle. Safety risk descrpition a loss of motive power while the vehicle is in motion could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Manufacturer recall number 20ae

Filed Sep 26, 2017 · Fuel system · 108,000 miles · NC

On 1 september 2017, I parked my vw in my garage. There were no engine lights on or anything, but the car had been making a loud fan like noise after I removed the key fob from the ignition. Its been doing that since I bought it. I didn't start the car back up until 5 september 2017 after returning from a weekend with family. When I started my vw up I noticed that the engine light was now illuminated. I waited about a week before I took any action hoping that the light would just go away on its own, but it didn't. On 12 september I took the car to the nearest autozone and took advantage of their free engine light diagnostic check. The error codes read "p0171 system too lean (bank 1)" and "p12a2 fuel rail pressure sensor inappropriately high." at the top of the paper it stated that the most likely solution for these error codes was to replace the fuel pump. Once I returned home I called the local volkswagen dealership and told them what the problem was, they told me that there was a recall out for my model vehicle, but there is no fix at the moment. I then went online to see for myself, the manufacturer recall number is: 20ae and the federal safety agency manufacturer number is: 17v509. I am not sure what caused the vehicle to randomly start having these issues. I do not feel safe driving the car out of town anymore, I only drive it to and from work.

Filed Jul 9, 2017 · Engine · 105,000 miles · TX

Car was parked and would not start. Had towed to mechanic--castastropic engine failure due to broken timing belt tensioner. 105k miles--maintenance upkept. Obviously there is a latent defect in the tensioner system of the timing chain that can cause the chain to “jump a tooth” in the vehicle’s camshaft, which causes serious and sometimes fatal damage to the engine. Unfortunately the defect is impossible for car owners to discover, but audi and volkswagen knew of the tensioner system problem since at least june 2010. Normally, the timing chain is meant to function perfectly for at least 120,000 miles. Because the system is not on the schedule for recommended maintenance from the manufacturers. However, with the defective tensioner, the timing chain frequently fails well before that mark, but often after the warranty has expired. This issue caused my engine to have catastrophic engine failure. Why has the vw owners not been notified and why hasn't the ntsb done anything about this. 7k+ to get a new engine. This is an internal part and not a scheduled maintenance issue.vw should be held accountable. People don't have money to purchase a car and have the engine fail before car is paid for.

Filed Sep 28, 2016 · Engine · FL

2009 volkswagen passat timing belt/chain tensioner problem in july 2016 my mother-in-law was leaving work, when she tried starting the car it didn't started. Someone in the parking volunteered to help her. They decided to jump start the car with a jump box, the car started and she made it home. Once she got home she tried to start the car and it did not start. She is a single mother and do not make a lot of money to fix her car, after a month and half of the car been park at home and taking rides from whoever can take her, we decided to get a mechanic that works for vw dealership. He came and fully checked the car and told us that the timing chain/belt jumped and that engine it's out of time, which it could have been caused from a bad tensioner. He said this is a real bad issue that could cause the valve to be bended. He gave us an expensive price to fix the car, so we decided to wait and be patience and be optimistic that it wasn't that since my mother in law doesn't have the money to fix it. A month later we decided to get other mechanics to get different opinions, they all said it was the same issue. One of the mechanics came and checked the pressure of the engine and it stay on 0 and that's when he confirmed that valves are bended. I have checked about this problem on the internet and many people are complaining about the same issue and vw knows about this issue for some time, I also see there is a lawsuit going on this issue. I can't believe and it should not be acceptable that vw knowing of this problem, it's not doing anything about fixing this problem. This issue could cause varieties of accident on the street, because if this issue happens to anybody on the street driving, it could lock the engine and cause the person lose control of the vehicle and either hit or get hit by somebody.

Filed Aug 25, 2016 · Engine · 69,000 miles · CA

My wife was driving the car to the airport and stopped at the cell phone waiting area. Tried to start again and car didn't start. Changed the battery with aaa and still didn't start. Towed it to dealer. They said the timing chain tensioner failed and it completely damaged the engine. Engine needs to be replaced which costs about $7k. I have checked about this problem in internet and many people are complaining about the same issue and vw knows about this issue for some time. As this can happen in middle of the traffic and can cause a fatal accident, we request you to investigate and make volkswagen recall and replace this part. Also, vw should take responsibility for the failed part and the repairs caused due to this part as it knows about this and ignored. I also see there is a lawsuit going on this issue. Check the link http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2016/volkswagen-timing-chain-tensioner-lawsuit.shtml vw really should be more responsible to avoid serious accidents

Filed Apr 2, 2014 · Steering · 77,500 miles · MI

Stopped to get gas came come back outside to start the car car would not start indicator on dashboard said the power steering system has locked up.

Filed Jun 29, 2013 · Engine · 44,500 miles · NC · fire

Traveling at posted speed limit on local highway when the engine lost power, battery light illuminated, A/C stopped blowing altogether. Vehicle was traveling up slight incline so vehicle pulled into nearest parking lot off of highway. Once vehicle pulled into parking lot it was turned off and the key removed. Attempted to re-start vehicle, engine would turn over but would not start. Removed key from vehicle, exited vehicle and noticed smoke coming from underneath hood. Raised hood and found top left rear engine cover and surrounding plastic tubing as well as the fabric on the underside of the hood on fire. Fire department was called but fire was extinguished prior to their arrival. Vehicle towed to local vw dealership and awaiting insurance adjuster and vw to assess damages.